Children of Dune

Long live the Golden Age -- we need more movies based upon the classics.

COD is good, better than Soderberg's Solaris (I know, I've got a chip on my shoulder).

I did not enjoy the sequel novels as much as the original Dune novel, and so I had no real hopes for this SciFi Channel Production.

It was head and shoulders better than the original mini-series for the following reasons:

1) Better casting -- in particular James McAvoy, who brought power, emotion, and sensitivity to his role. An almost Shakespearean hero. 2) Stunningly beautiful score -- thanks to Brian Tyler.

I'm not going to beat up on the story, original or screenplay, I have no real complaints, it was well paced and well told.

The film seemed very sumptuous, although I agree that, at times, COD had a very 'filmed on the set' feel to it, particularly the deep desert scenes, the true character of Arrakis still has yet to be realized on screen, and computer effects still have a long way to go (on any film) to lose the sterile feel.

Because of the better casting and score, I found it very easy to suspend disbelief, allow myself to be drawn in, and become emotionally interested, something which science fiction films seem to have trouble doing (Gattaca is an exception).

On that note alone I would give COD a very high rating and call it the best science fiction film I have seen in a couple of years.

I admit being a big fan of the 'Dune' books. I consider them being a masterpiece, not only of the science-fiction genre, but of the world literature as a whole. Yes, nothing less. I am a books lover, and I have read very few books reaching this level of complexity and with such a philosophical depth when reflecting what the faith of mankind will be in the future. Reflections on democracy and dictatorship, ecological balance, holy wars, genetics, love, you find them all melted at high artistic temperature.

Having revealed this, any film inspired by 'Dune' must reach a high stake for me to like it. A great director as David Lynch already tried his forces, with good (but not perfect) results. The current series, inspired by the second and third books in the series are very faithful to the original. Certainly the books are that powerful, so people who did not read them may find some details obscure, or some conflict details un-explained. Well, my only advice - go and read the books! You will not regret.

'Dune' is golden material for mini-series, but also puts some serious technical challenges. The team who realized 'Children of Dune' met them well for most of the time. Some of the effects look Disney-like, and this is the only big minus I found in this film. Otherwise, a very good cast does a wonderful job in re-creating Herbert's world of characters. The action has logic, and each of the third parts is well driven from a tension point of view.

I hope that more is coming. If they approach the fourth book, that one has even more challenges, as Frank Herbert's fantasy got even wilder, in what I think was one of the best books in the series. In any case, 'Children of Dune' is memorable, and gets a 9/10 on my personal scale.

After reading the first two of Frank Herbert's Dune books I had to wonder whether the story of the water forsaken planet still had some potential. Consequently, although I bought Children of Dune, I didn't get to read it to the end. And all the time I was thinking: why didn't anyone do a really cool movie about Dune, as it deserves? Obviously, the moment I laid eyes on "Children of Dune" (the mini-series this time) I felt a terrible urge to acquire it, despite being tempted by more reputed films. In the end, I didn't have any regrets.

That is because the film is not only easy to follow, as long as you've either read the first book (and a bit of the second) or seen the first part of the mini-series (which I haven't), but it's also visually delightful, doing some justice to Frank Herbert's saga. It does not bore but it does not truly have a mesmerizing effect either. Nevertheless it does keep you pretty glued to the chair/sofa for as long as it takes to see the outcome. Unfortunately "Children of Dune" goes along the path I assumed the books would: it simply loses its charm as it becomes a bit too foreseeable. This doesn't necessarily mean it's not worth its hours, but it means it's definitely not as enchanting as the first part of the Dune saga - where everything was still fresh and authentic, original and innovative.

All in all, as a fan, I can't say I've been displeased by the series. It's fun to watch as it delivers certain chills and thrills along the way - just that it's not really the uniqueness of Dune that conquers you, but the fine work behind and in front of the camera.

Now this is more like it! While the Sci-Fi version of 'Dune' was much better than the pathetic 1984 David Lynch version, I felt it still suffered from the 'gotta be way out there' syndrome. It was decent, but badly directed and overacted (witness the Guild Reps doing Tai Chi when they talk). Overall it was fair but not really notable.

This version is fantastic however. For me, this is what Sci-Fi should be all about. They took two of Herbert's books (Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) and combined them into a mini-series that actually takes the material seriously and doesn't try to hard to be different. I thought Leto was excellently done, Alia even better, Ghanima a little less than I expected. The effects were good, but I thought the story was actually the driving force for a change.

All in all a great effort. Now let's see if they do 'God-Emporer of Dune'

A blizzard and 32 inches of snow is the perfect setting to watch a mini-series that has been taped for later viewing. As a long-time Dune book series fan and an owner of the DVD of the Lynch movie and the first Sc-Fi miniseries, I eagerly awaited Children of Dune.

The good: Excellent musical score (hopefully available on amazon.com); better acting in general, especially Alice Krige as Lady Jessica and the young actor who played Leto, son of Paul; better special effects (incredible sandworms!); and just the fact that Sci-Fi took time and money to prodice this miniseries (though I will never forgive the cancellation of Farscape).

The bad: Susan Sarandon, for an alleged fan of the Dune series, was just terrible, all hammy and goofy like some character out of a 60s sitcom; the actress who played Alia, Paul Atreides sister, was OK but seemed to lack the fire that I always envisioned as Paul's sister went mad; and the story, which was a mixture of the second and third books in the series, was so incredibly dense -- even for a Dune veteran like me -- that I wondered if anyone else could watch the mini-series and even figure out what was going on.

Generally speaking, this was a better production than the first miniseries, but the story was harder to tell. I hope that Sci-Fi carries on and does a third mini-series. I rated Children of Dune an 8.